Back Where She Belongs
by monkaholic
Summary: After three years, Sharona walks back into Adrian Monk's life.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer:Monk belongs to the USA Network

Author's Note: This is my version of what I would want to happen if Sharona were to suddenly come back into Monk's life. Reviews are always appreciated. I'd love to hear what you guys think. I hope you like it! More chapters are coming soon!

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A tan Volvo station wagon pulled up to Adrian Monk's house. It was dark and the rain was pounding down on the nervous, petite blond as she stepped out of the car. She held onto the door for a moment as she stared up to Monk's apartment window. There was a light on, the one by his sofa. _Good_, she thought, _he's still awake_. He was probably reading some of Trudy's poetry, or else working late on a hard case. Then she saw a feminine silhouette pass by the window. A pang of jealousy shot through the blonde's heart, and her mind drifted back to three years earlier.

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Trevor had just proposed to her…again. He and Sharona had been talking to each other for a couple of months, and they even spent some time together. She truly believed that he had finally changed for the better. So when she said, "Yes," she thought that she was doing the right thing. Benjy needed his father back, and she had been lonely for far too long. She was so excited that night, she just had to tell somebody, and who better to tell than your best friend? So she hopped into her car and drove over to Adrian's place as fast as she could.

She ran up to his door and started knocking furiously. He opened the door in a panic, thinking that something was wrong. Sharona shoved past him with a huge smile on her face and stood in the middle of the room, waiting for Adrian to shut the door.

"Sharona, what—what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong!" she said with an even bigger smile. "In fact, everything's perfect!"

"P—Perfect?" Monk said with a twitch.

"Yes! Guess what Adrian? I'm getting married!" she exclaimed, holding out her hand and showing off her wedding ring.

"What? But…to who? You—you haven't been dating anyone, who would propose to you?"

"What, you think nobody would want to marry me? Am I that bad?" Sharona said in a hurt voice, her smile completely gone.

"No, I didn't mean it like that, Sharona, I meant…who is it?"

"Trevor," Sharona said curtly. The sting of Adrian's last comment was still throbbing.

"Trevor," Monk said doubtfully, "as in Trevor your ex-husband? The one who drinks too much, gambles away your money, and cheats on you any chance he gets? That Trevor?"

Sharona crossed her arms and glared at Monk. "He's changed, Adrian."

"Yeah, that's what you said the last time."

"Well, it's different this time. He really has changed. He's actually being a father to Benjy, and in these last few months he made me remember why I fell in love with him in the first place. It's true, Adrian."

"Yeah, okay," Monk said, full of sarcasm.

"Adrian, why can't you just be happy for me?"

"Because…"

"Because why?"

"Because! He's going to take you away from me!" Monk exploded. Then in a strained voice he said, "You belong here, by my side, not his. He doesn't…" Monk looked down at his hands and intertwined his fingers.

"He doesn't what, Adrian?" Sharona said with tears in her eyes.

"He doesn't deserve you," he whispered.

Sharona felt the tears fall down her face, and she managed to quietly say to Adrian, "I love him. I have to go."

"_No_, you don't," Monk said. "Please, stay here. This is where you belong."

"I'm sorry, Adrian, but I have to do this. I need a life. I need to be loved, and that's something that you just can't give me." She wiped her face and brushed past Adrian to get to the door.

"Sharona, wait!" Monk said, turning around.

Sharona turned her head to look back at Adrian and said, "What?"

He just stared at her, frozen. His mouth was open, but no words came out.

She turned back to the door, opened it, and left without another word.

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Sharona was still staring at his window, and she was drenched from head to toe. She finally closed her car door and headed up the steps to Monk's apartment. She got to his door and froze. What was she going to say? She hadn't had a plan when she decided to come see Adrian. She hadn't even thought about the possibility of him having another assistant. Of course he has an assistant, it's been three years. Nobody would wait that long for somebody to come back, not even Adrian. What if that silhouette isn't an assistant, but a girlfriend? Or a wife? Nah, this was Adrian, he couldn't be in love with anyone but Trudy.

Sharona took a deep breath, and as she reached up to knock, the door flew open before her knuckles had the chance to touch the surface of the wood. Another petite blond stared back at her, in total shock.

"Who are you?" she said coldly, looking Sharona up and down.

"I'm—I'm Sharona Fleming, Adrian's old assistant," Sharona replied nervously.

"Oh!" the blond said, still shocked.

"Natalie, who are you talking to?" Sharona heard Monk say. She could hear his footsteps getting closer to the door until finally he caught a glimpse of her.

"Sharona," he whispered.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:Monk belongs to the USA Network

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate the feedback!

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"Hi, Adrian," Sharona said, smiling innocently.

"Sharona…you're wet. You're dripping all over my welcome mat," Monk said, taking in the sight of the woman who he had been yearning to see for what seemed like an eternity.

Sharona rolled her eyes. "I haven't seen you for three years, and what's the first thing you say to me? I'm getting your welcome mat wet," she said with a chuckle. Then in a soft voice she said, "I'm glad to see that you're still the same old Adrian."

Monk smiled and nodded his head, still staring intently at the woman in front of him. He subtly breathed in her scent. The mixture of strawberry shampoo and vanilla perfume made his heart beat increase in an instant. God, how he missed that smell!

"Adrian? Can I come in for a minute? I really have to talk to you."

"Um…I'd—I'd love for you to come in, but…you're soaking wet. I can't have you dripping all over the floor," Monk said matter-of-factly.

"Mr. Monk, just give her some towels and she'll dry off," Natalie said.

"But then my towels will be ruined."

"Mr. Monk! Go get Ms. Fleming some towels!"

Monk stared at Natalie for a moment, then went to the bathroom closet and brought Sharona some towels. Sharona dried off the best she could, and Monk finally let her in the room. Sharona went to sit down on the right end of the leather couch, but before she sat Monk said, "Wait!" He placed a dry towel on the couch and told Sharona, "Okay, now you can sit." Sharona rolled her eyes once again and sat down, motioning for Monk to sit down next to her. Natalie followed Monk and sat down on the left end of the couch. Both Monk and Sharona looked at her as if she was crazy.

"What?" she asked.

"Weren't you leaving?" Monk asked.

"Well, I was, but this is just too good to miss," Natalie replied with a smile.

Sharona laughed. She liked this girl already. "So Monk, aren't you going to introduce me to your new assistant?"

Monk was noticeably nervous, he kept rubbing his legs and wouldn't look at either woman. He sighed and said, "Sharona, this is Natalie Teeger. She's been my assistant ever since three months after you left. She's a single mother of a fourteen-year-old daughter."

"Oh, wow! I have a fifteen-year-old son. I bet they'll end up going to the same school together," Sharona said, leaning over Monk so that she could talk directly to Natalie.

"Oh, that'd be great. Julie could show him around the high school."

"Yeah. Wouldn't it be cute if they ended up liking each other? Does she have a boyfriend?"

"Okay! Okay!" Monk shouted. He stood up, grabbed Natalie's coat and purse and said, "That's it. Natalie, please, go home. Me and Sharona need to talk."

Sharona's mouth fell open. She had never seen Monk so assertive before, and usually when she wants to have a talk with him, he does everything to try and avoid actually having that talk. Maybe he's not the same old Adrian after all.

Natalie smirked, stood up, grabbed her things from Monk, and headed out the door. "See you tomorrow, Mr. Monk. You know you're going to have to tell me all the juicy details in the morning."

"_Goodbye, Natalie_," Monk said. He walked back over to the couch and sat down. He saw the surprised look on Sharona's face and asked, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I—I just—um…what's happened in these last three years?"

"Well, I went camping, I went to Vegas and won Disher's life savings back for him, and…I found Trudy's killer."

"What!" Sharona shouted. "Boy, you're just full of surprises tonight!"

"Yeah," Monk said with a chuckle. He looked into Sharona's blue eyes and said "A lot of things can happen in three years… two months, five days, and seven hours."

Sharona laughed to herself. "Yeah, but some things never change," she said as she reached over and grabbed Monk's hand, "and I'm thankful for that."

Monk smiled. He never even flinched when she took his hand. He was content to finally feel her touch again. He never wanted to let go.

"So tell me, how'd you find the creep who killed Trudy?"


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:Monk belongs to the USA Network

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate the feedback!

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"It's—it's a long story," Monk said.

"That's okay, I'm in the mood for a long story," Sharona replied, removing her hand from Monk's and slipping off her shoes, bringing her legs up to the couch so that she was sitting on the bottoms of her feet.

Monk felt the coolness rush over his hand as he realized that Sharona had let go. He put it in his lap and started rubbing his leg, trying to get back some of the warmth that his hand had felt while Sharona was holding it. He collected his thoughts, took a deep breath, and faced Sharona.

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It all started last year when I got a notice from the storage company that they were closing down business. The storage building was going to be torn down, so I had to remove my things from their storage space. It was everything from Trudy's old office. All of her files, her computer, her chair, her pictures… and everything from her bulletin board.

Natalie told me that it was time to go through everything and throw some of it away. I protested, of course, but she kept telling me that it was something that I had to do. I finally broke down and said that I would do it, but I only said that to humor her. I never had any intention of throwing anything away. As I was going through the things that were on her bulletin board, I came across this.

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Monk pulled out a newspaper clipping from the book that was on the coffee table. He handed it to Sharona.

Sharona read the article and stared at a picture of two middle-aged men in suits leaning on a desk. They were standing shoulder to shoulder with their legs crossed and their hands folded. "I don't understand, how did this help you?" she asked with a confused expression.

"Look at the picture," Monk said.

"I did look at the picture, there's nothing special about it."

"Look closer," Monk replied with a small smile.

Sharona moved the picture closer to her face and examined every inch of it. "What? I still don't see anything!"

Monk's smile faded and he said, "Look—look at his hands! The VP's hands!"

Sharona's eyes widened and she exclaimed, "Oh my god!"

"That's right," Monk said, his smile returning, "he's got an extra pinkie."

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When I read the article, I found out that the CEO in the picture was John Anderson, one of Trudy's long time friends. I remember going to his funeral with Trudy. She mentioned that he never seemed like the type to commit suicide, but I told her not to worry about it. When someone gets caught embezzling over 500 million dollars from one of largest companies in the United States, there's no telling what they might do. The police said that he panicked and killed himself before they could arrest him.

Trudy never believed that story. I should have listened to her. I was working on a high profile case at the time, so she didn't ask me to look into it. She knew I was too preoccupied to investigate a closed case. She ended up taking matters into her own hands.

Natalie and I went to see Trudy's old editor and he said that she told him that she was working on a big story, one that would blow everybody away, but she refused to tell him what it was about. He said that he had pressed Trudy as hard as he could, but she just wouldn't give her secret away.

Our next stop was the company building. We asked around, but just about everyone had only been working there for a year or two. We finally found a secretary who was there during the scandal, and she said that the six-fingered man, Henry Dugan, was long gone. He had quit just a month after the death of Anderson. That's when I knew he was the guy.

I asked Disher to look up Dugan's record. Apparently the name Henry Dugan was just an alias. He had hired a hacker to create a legitimate social security number and driver's license for him. Once he quit the company, he disappeared. He no longer used any credit cards with that name, all of the bank accounts in that name were closed, he sold his car, and he completely disappeared off of the face of the earth. I thought that it was no use looking anymore, but Stottlemeyer convinced me that I could find him. He said, "He's a criminal, Monk, he'll make a mistake. And if there's anybody in this world who can find that mistake, it's you."

He was right. Dugan had done it before. I found out that there was a software company in New York who had sued a man matching the description of Dugan for embezzling 20 million dollars, and he mysteriously disappeared on the day of his arraignment. The same thing happened to a car company in Michigan, only he embezzled 50 million that time, and he didn't stick around long enough to get caught. In Texas he embezzled 100 million, and then he hit the jackpot here in San Francisco, only someone figured him out.

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"John Anderson?" Sharona asked.

"You got it," Monk said.

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Anderson confronted Dugan and probably warned him that he would go to the authorities. Dugan couldn't risk being caught again, so he offered Anderson some money. When he figured out that Anderson couldn't be bought, he told the owner of the company that John Anderson was the one had embezzled the 500 million dollars. The owner pressed charges, and before the police could get to Anderson for questioning, Dugan killed him and made it look like a suicide.

The week after Anderson's funeral, Trudy started investigating. She posed as an employee and found the financial records. She figured out that the embezzlement was still happening, so she knew that it hadn't been Anderson. Trudy had all she needed to write her story. Dugan found her snooping around, and started following her. He figured out that she knew, so he hired Warrick Tennyson to put a bomb on Trudy's car while it was in the parking garage. They watched her get in, then they activated the bomb with a cell phone. And you know what happened after that.

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"So, how did you find out where Dugan was hiding?" Sharona asked.

"He wasn't hiding, he just had a new alias," Monk replied.

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Natalie, Stottlemeyer, Disher and I had all heard about another big embezzlement case up in Montana, so we went to check it out. The guy fit the same description, and he had just disappeared the day before. We figured it was a long shot, but we went to the airport. I figured it had to take him at least a day to get everything together and get a new identity. We asked around at every gate and kept an eye out for the six-fingered man. Then…I spotted him.

He was walking in my direction, and I just glared at him. I was clenching my fists and I could feel my face getting red. I jumped in front of him when he got near me and prevented him from going any further.

"Excuse me, sir, get your hands off me," he said.

I glared at him even harder and said, "Do you know who I am?"

"No," he said.

"Do you remember a woman named Trudy Monk?" I asked him in a cold voice.

"No, I don't. Should I?" he said back to me, equally cold.

I could feel the tears burning in my eyes as I said to him, "She was the woman you killed eleven years ago, you bastard!" I grabbed him by his coat lapels and shoved him against the wall. "You killed her! You killed my wife! And you don't even remember!"

Airport security started inching up to me when they heard the commotion, but Stottlemeyer held them back for me. I slammed Dugan against the wall again in pure anger. I've never felt so much rage in my entire life! I wanted to kill this man. I wanted him to suffer, the same way that I suffered. But… I kept hearing Trudy's voice in my head saying, "Don't do it…don't do it."

I stared into the cold hard eyes of the man who had Trudy killed. There wasn't an ounce of humanity in him. I kept thinking, if I kill him, then I'm no better than he is. Trudy wouldn't want me to have eyes like that, so I turned him around, put his hands behind his back, and let Disher slap some cuffs on him.

He got a double life sentence without probation for the murder of Trudy and Anderson, and five years for each embezzlement case.

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"I caught him, Sharona, I finally solved the case," Monk said with a smile and tears in his eyes.

"Yeah, you did. I'm really proud of you, Adrian," Sharona said, beaming.

Monk smiled and nodded, trying to hold back the tears from falling down his face.

After a few minutes of silence Monk says, "Sharona… why'd you come back? Why now?"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer:Monk belongs to the USA Network

Author's Note: Once again, I must say thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate the feedback! This chapter gets us back to the romance part of the story. I hope it's not too corny. I can't wait to see what you guys think!

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"Hmph, I've been asking myself those same questions," Sharona said, staring off into the distance. She sighed and turned her attention back to Monk. She grabbed Monk's hand and absent-mindedly began to rub his forearm, feeling the warm material of his gray suit jacket. "I guess the main reason why I came back is because I figured out that me and Trevor were never meant to be. We couldn't stand each other anymore, so we decided to call it quits."

"Aw, gee, that's—that's a shame. I'm sorry it didn't work out." Monk said, trying to sound sympathetic.

"No you're not," Sharona said with a small smile.

"Yeah, you're right, but I thought I'd say it anyway," Monk said, unable to hide the smile that was forming on his lips.

Sharona rolled her eyes and shook her head, then looked into Monk's brown eyes and smiled. "I also came back because…I missed you."

"You missed me? Really?" Monk asked, dumbfounded.

"Well, yeah, of course I missed you."

"You…missed me," Monk stated. He pulled his hand away from Sharona's and stared at his coffee table. "If you missed me so much, how come you never called? Or wrote?"

"I…I…"

"You what? You forgot how to use a phone? Couldn't remember how to write a letter? What?"

"Adrian!"

"No, don't 'Adrian' me, okay," Monk said as he stood up from the couch. "I want to know, why did you leave without saying a proper goodbye, and then not even contact me for _three years_?"

"Because I…"

"Because why!"

"Because, I wanted to make a clean break!" Sharona shouted at Monk as she stood up to meet his eyes. "I was afraid that if I talked to you again after that night, I wouldn't have been able to leave you!"

Monk took a step back, surprise spilling over his face. He had always thought it was because she thought that he wouldn't have been able to handle it, but all this time, she was the one who couldn't handle it.

"I didn't really _want_ to leave you, Adrian, I had to. I needed to go with Trevor so that I could find out if there was something there for me, but there wasn't. I thought that…" The tears started rolling down Sharona's red cheeks. She sniffled and continued, "I thought that I didn't have a life here. I thought that you were holding me back from finding a father for Benjy. I wanted to give him a real family." She stepped closer to Monk, took both of his hands in her's, and stared straight into his silky brown eyes. "What I didn't realize was, Benjy already had a father, and I already had a life. A good one. And…I threw all that away the night that I walked out your door."

All kinds of feelings were running through Monk in that moment. He was angry at her for leaving, but happy to see her again. He was excited to be feeling her skin against his, yet repulsed by what kinds of germs could be on her hands. He was sorry that she had such a rough time in New Jersey, but glad that it didn't work out for her. He wanted to forgive her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He let go of her hands, stepped away from her once more, and said, "You're right, Sharona, you did throw it all away."

Sharona looked down and covered her face with her hands. She tried to stifle a sob but was unsuccessful. She pulled herself together long enough to look into Monk's face and say, "I'm sorry, Adrian. I know that I hurt you. I know that I made a mistake. And…I know that you don't need me anymore. I should never have come here, I'm sorry." She wiped her tears away, grabbed her coat and purse, and headed to the door.

"Sharona, wait!" Monk shouted as he turned to look at her.

Sharona had her hand on the doorknob, but stopped at the sound of his voice. She slowly turned her head to look at him and softly said, "What?"

Monk looked into her crystal blue eyes and froze. This couldn't be happening, not again. He didn't want to have to wait another three years before he could see her again. He knew what he wanted to say, but the words just weren't coming out.

Sharona turned her gaze back to the door and opened it. She took one step out the door when she felt a hand on her arm, pulling her back into the apartment. Shocked, she stared up into Adrian's face as he pulled her towards him. She could feel his warm, unsteady breathing brushing across her forehead.

"I do need you, Sharona," Monk whispered. "Please…don't go. You're back where you belong."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer:Monk belongs to the USA Network

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate the feedback! Thanks to the readers who have stuck with this story. Sorry it took so long to update. I hope you like it!

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Sharona was speechless. Adrian's eyes were so intense that she got lost in them. Her body gravitated closer to Adrian's. He didn't move a muscle, but she could feel his breathing getting faster with each step she took. Never breaking eye contact, she slowly inched closer to his lips. She gently wrapped her arms around his neck, and as she tilted her head and almost met his lips, Natalie came bursting through the door. Sharona and Monk jumped away from each other as quick as a flash of lightening.

Natalie hadn't even noticed that the two had been in an embrace. "Hi, Mr. Monk. I'm sorry to interrupt you and your friend again, but I think I left some lipstick here. Have you seen it?"

Monk started to nervously fidget with his hands. He watched as Natalie frantically searched for the make-up and said, "Um…lipstick? No, no, I haven't seen any lipstick, have you Sharona?"

Equally nervous, Sharona replied, "No! I mean…no, I haven't."

Natalie suspiciously looked up from the couch that she had been searching through and asked, "What's wrong with you two?"

"Nothing!" Monk and Sharona both replied at the same time.

"_Right_," Natalie said skeptically, looking from one to the other. "Well, that's not important, I just need to find that lipstick."

"What's so important about the lipstick? Don't you have another one?" Monk asked.

"Yes, I do have another one, but the one that I lost is Randy's favorite. It drives him wild when I wear it and we have a date tonight!"

"Oh… right… I forgot about that. Don't worry about it Natalie, this is Disher we're talking about. _Anything_ you wear will drive him crazy," Monk said with a small smile.

Natalie thought for a moment, then smiled mischievously and said, "Yeah, you're right. In fact, anything that I _don't_ wear drives him even crazier!"

"Oh, god!" Monk shouted, covering his ears and tightly closing his eyes. "Wipe! I need a wipe!"

Natalie giggled, rolled her eyes, and handed Monk a pack of wipes. "Here," she said. "You know, Mr. Monk, the human body is a beautiful"

"No it isn't," Monk hastily said, interrupting another one of her speeches about the human body. It was bad enough just thinking about it, he didn't need to hear about it too.

"Wait a minute," Sharona said, looking at Natalie. "You're dating Disher? Randy Disher?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, nothing, it's just…he and I…he used to…" Sharona's voice trailed off and she shook her head. "Boy, things sure have changed around here."

Monk could hear the hurt in Sharona's voice. His heart sank. She had been hoping to see Disher again. Monk always found himself resenting Disher whenever Sharona was around. He hated the fact that she would flirt with Disher, but it never came into her mind to flirt with him. Not that Monk really _wanted_ to flirt with her, it just would have been nice to know that she saw him as a man.

"I better go," Sharona said, interrupting Monk's thoughts. "Benjy starts at his new school tomorrow. We gotta get up bright and early, and I seriously doubt that he's in bed right now like he's supposed to be." She put on her coat, grabbed her purse, and walked to the door. She looked back at Monk and said, "I'll see ya." She turned towards Natalie and said, "It was nice meeting you. I can see you've done a great job with Adrian. You two seem like great friends."

"Thanks, it was nice meeting you too," Natalie said. She looked over at Monk who had a worried expression on his face, then turned back to Sharona and as if reading Monk's mind she said, "Don't be a stranger, okay?"

Sharona smiled and felt a couple tears escape her eyes. "Okay," she said, and walked out the door. She stood on the steps for a moment, remembering the intensity that she had seen in Adrian's eyes. She turned around and marched back through the door.

Monk turned around at the sound of her shoes clicking against his floor. He looked into her face and saw the hunger in her eyes. "Sharona, what's wrong?"

"I forgot something," Sharona said as she reached up and grabbed Monk's face, pulling him to her ravenous lips.

Monk was squirming at first out of total shock, but relaxed as her hands gently ran through his hair and rubbed his back. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her deeper into the glorious kiss. His hands absently began to roam, one making it's way to her soft blond curls, the other slowly making it's way down to her voluptuous derriere. He felt Sharona's tongue tickle his lips. He allowed her entry and she moaned with delight. He soaked up every inch of her mouth, the pent-up passion inside of him exploding.

Natalie stood there with her mouth hanging open, gawking at the two. Adrian Monk was kissing somebody…willingly…and passionately? She couldn't believe it. She ran over to the coffee table, grabbed the pack of wipes from earlier, and walked back over to the couple, waiting with a wipe in hand.

Sharona finally pulled away from Adrian, and he reluctantly removed his hands from her hips. Catching her breath Sharona said, "I really do have to go. It was great seeing you again, Adrian."

Dazed by what had just happened, Monk gives her a goofy smile.

Red-faced, Sharona smiles back and walks out the door once again.

A moment passed before Natalie finally said, "She seems like a nice a girl."

Staring at the door Monk said, "She is."


End file.
